Apparatus for making wood patches



g- 1953 E. v. BENNETT ET- AL 2,649,869

' I APPARATUS FOR MAKING WOOD PATCHES Filed Aug. 29 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l ELBERT v. BENNETT 'lf T 5 5 1'5 2 HARRELL RENN 47 7- TERA/53%;?

Aug. 25, 1953 r E. v. BENNETT ET AL 2,649,869

APPARATUS FOR MAKING WOOD PATCHES Filed Aug. 29, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ELBERT V. BENNETT HARRELL RE'NN 7 T #URNE W5 g- 1953 E. v. BENNETT ET AL 2,649,869

APPARATUS FOR MAKING woon PATCHES Filed Aug. 29, 1950 5 Sheets-She et 3' MUXENTUFE ELbE-RT v. BENNETT HAPRELL RENN Aug. 25, 1953 E. v. BENNETT ET AL A 2,549,869

APPARATUS FOR'MAKING woon PATCHES Filed Aug. 29. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 muA/TU/ E ELBERT v. BENNETT HARRELL RE-NN E/KZAJ/M T TE A/b6 Aug. 25, 1953 E. v. BENNETT El A1; ,5 9

I APPARATUS FOR MAKING woon PATCHES Filed Aug- 29, 1950' v 5- Shee tsSheet 5 10a 1oz Li [15 i v I 14 v 70 30 I v REV v 7 116 U? 119 Z 1/5 x /N/EN 57R51 11/ ELBERT V. BENNETT HARRELh RENN ,4 T'TERNE/E Patented Aug. 25 1953 APPARATUS FOR MAKING WOOD PATCHES Elbert V. Bennett and Harrell Benn, Albany, 0reg., assignors to M and M Wood Working Company, Portland, 0reg., a corporation of Oregon Application August 29, 1950, Serial No. 181,983

12 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for making wood veneer repair patches.

It is the practice to improve the grade of veneer, plywood, or lumber by routing out small knots, pitch pockets, and other defects and applying a patch of clear grained wood veneer in the prepared recess to cover the defect. Various forms of patches have heretofore been devised for this purpose such as circular, boat-shaped, or elongated patches with rounded ends, all of which have a number of disadvantages. They are wasteful of the high grade patch veneer, they are not well suited for quantity production, they are not conveniently adaptable to the patching of defects of different sizes, they leave much to b desired in the quality of the bond obtained at the endsof the patch, and they require rather complicated patch making equipment having delicate adjustments to make the patch fit properly.

Objects of the present invention are, therefore, to provide apparatus for making an improved form of patch which overcomes the shortcomings and disadvantages enumerated above. Particular objects are to provide apparatus for making patches of a shape to reduce waste of the patching veneer, to make a styl of patch having a stronger bond with the surrounding wood, to make patches of different sizes which do not require different patch making, routing and gluing equipment, and to provide relatively inexpensive but accurate machinery for making the patches in large quantity.

In general, the invention comprises novel and improved apparatus for making a rectangular sled patch having the improved characteristics hereinabove pointed out. The present apparatus is designed to effect a novel methodof production making a supply of the patches in long strips from which the indfividual patches may be broken off as they are needed. Pieces of the patch veneer are first cut into such strips having a width equal to the desired width of the patch. By the use of the special tools and equipment to be presently described, the tapered sled-shaped ends of the patches are formed on one side of the strip without cutting through the strip to separate the patches. Certain functions of the machine are performed automatically to simplify and reduce the number of manual operations required of th operator.

The patch strips are preferably of uniform width, but the individual patches may be made to different standard lengths by simple manipulation of the machine without changing the shaping tool or making any other time consuming changes or adjustments in th equipment. The rectangular shape of the patches greatly simplifies the cutting tools and simplifies the problem of maintaining the precision necessary for a good fit of the patch in a machine prepared recess.

The invention is described in detail in the following specification in connection with the ac- .companying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the apparatus, and additional objects and advantages will become apparent to persons skilled in the art. Various changes may be made, however, in the construction and arrangement of parts, and certain features may be used without others without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It is, therefore, to be understood that the drawings are intended merely to illustrate the principles of the invention and are not intended to limit th invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine for cutting patch strips; 7

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a patch strip;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2; V

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a, perspective view of a machine for forming individual patches on the patch strips:

Figure 5a is a cross sectional view, with certain parts omitted, taken on the line 5a.5a of Figure 5;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a patch strip after the patches have been formed;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of an individual patch;

Figure 8 is across sectional view taken on the line 88 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the machine shown in Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a perspective View of the cutting tool adjustment mechanism in the machine of Figure 5 viewed from below; I

Figure 11 is a rear elevation view of the vertical tool slide taken on the line HH of Figure 9;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary sectional view of the strip feed and grip device taken on the line l2-l2 of Figure 9; a

Figure 13 is a partially exploded view in perspective of the strip feed and grip device shown in Figure 12; and

Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the electrical andfluid pressure systems in the machine shown in Figure 5.

In Figure l, the table has a back flange or fance H to guide the longitudinal movement of a sheet of patch veneer V relative to a rotary milling cutter E2. The cutter i2 is equipped with three sets of tapered cutting blades it which cut tapered'slots Hi to form a pair of patchstrips S and trim off waste strips 55. 'The taper of the blades I3 makes the bottom surfaces it of the strips wider than the top surfaces ll and leaves the edges I8 inclined to the top and bottom surfaces as shown in Figures 3 and 4. In the ultimate patches, the wide under surface it forms the top of the patch. 'Iheipatch strip cutter of Figure 1 may, obviously, be designed to cut a larger number of strips S simultaneously, but in the present case it is intended to utilize relatively narrow scraps of clear grained veneer.

Figure is a general view of a shaping machine for transversely grooving the narrow surface ll of the strip S "in Figure-2 to form the strip of connected patches shown in Figure 6. lhe machine has a table top ii to support a strip S on edge for longitudinal feed movement against a vertical guide plate or fence 22 extending along the rearside of the machine and'is equipped with a rotary shaper tool 25 having V-shaped cutter blades 28 as shown in Figure 9 to form sledshaped'end surfaces 2? on the series of patches P. In the present illustration the end surfaces 27 are circular arcs tangent to the bottom surfaces t! of the patches. lhe machine is preferably adjusted so that the peaks of the blades do not break through the opposite surface of the strip, whereby the patches P remain joined together in end to end relation by thin webs 0 necks of materialist onthe top surface it or the patches.

The cutter ibis mounted on a shaft 2 journaled in suitable bearings ona vertical tool slide 313, as best shown in Figure 11. Shaft fiil is'driven by pulleys fzl beltedto amotor 32 which is also mounted on the slide 30. Slide israised and lowered-bya pistonreeves: connected with .a pieton in a fluid pressure cylinder 38. A link 3? pivotally connects the slide withthe piston rod to accommodatemisalignment between the slide and the cylinder. The numeral ts designates a suction hood to remove cuttings.

sl-ide ec is mounted on a vertical guide bracket l'dwh-ich has a horizontaltop portion 41 constituting' a slide-in-a-pa-i-r or horizontal guides "42 on the underside of table 2! as shown in Figure 10. The vertical guide bracket-llt is also equippe with a tapped bossle toreceive the threaded end of anadjusting screw which is accessible at the front of the table. Screw 45 is rotatably mounted in -a depending flange or bracket 46 on the table El and is equipped with-a collar ii'to cooperate with-the knob in preventing longitudinal movement of the screw. Thus, as adjusting screw-#25 is' turned in one direction or the other, the-vertical guide bracket G0 is moved forward or back under the table to adjust the cutter 25'relati've to fence-Error accurately controlling the depth of cut.

The strip S- is held; firmly against fence 22 duringa cutting operation by means of a releasable clamp shoe 5i] shown in Figure -9. Shoe 5t is carried by a pair of studs 51 in a slide 52 mounted in guides-53 on top of the: table 2| directly opposite the cutter 25. Springs 5t urge the clamp shoe filltowardthe fenceil Slide block-52 is retracted: in its guides 53 by means of a stud 55 having flanges 56 engaging opposite sides'of a shifter fork 57, which projects up through an 4 opening 58 in the table top. Fork 5'! is connected with a downwardly extending lever 60 by means of a short shaft cl journaled in a bracket E2 on the underside of the table. Lever 68 is connected with a tension spring 6-3 which acts through the fork 5i tending .to pull the clamp shoe 52 away from the work.

The lower end of lever arm 65 carries a roller E i to ride on a cam plate 55 attached to the vertical slidefill. When the slide is in its lower position, as shown in Figure 10, roller 6 engages a relieved portion 66 of the cam, allowing spring s3 toholdthe clamp shoe 5|] in retracted position to permit feed movement of the work. As soon as slide 3t starts upward, roller 64 rides upon the raised portion 67 of the cam, swinging lever arm 6t and fork 51 in a counterclockwise direction to release clamp shoe 50 to hold the work piece firmly against fence 22 under the action of springs 5d. :Slide '38 .is also equipped with .an adjustable switchactuating screw 15.

Referringnow moreiparticularly to Figures -12 and 13,'the numeral ll designates a sliding strip feed device for moving the strip 8 to indexed positions for treatment by the cutter 2-5. The feed device has a slide tongue i2 fitting in a groove or way 73 in the frontface of fence plate 232 for travel along this;p1ate, thefront faceof slide tongue 1-2 :being flush with the front rface of'plate 22 toengageoneend of a strip S in the manner shown. A'lever lfiisgpivotally mounted on pin it: and urged byspring 1"! into clamping engagement with a strip S to clamp the'end of the strip againstslideatongue 12, as bestshcwn in Figure 9. Thejfeed device is indexed. to different working positionsby a series'of stop studs spaced atu'egularintervals along the tabl'e 2|. An upstanding lever!!! is pivotally mounted "on screw 82 in a convenient position to be grasped by the right "hand 'ofithe operator. When .the feed device I! is advanced withthe lever ftl in its upright positicnzastshown.irnFigure'12, the lever will engage the next stopidcto. index the strip- S at a working position. By. swinging leveriii in a counterclockwise rdirection after the cutting op" eration-is completedcatwaparticular station, the lowerend of thelever willclearthe'stop'to allow the feed device to be moved .to the next'stop. The stops as may be located to cutone: particular length of patch,';.as, for :instance, at :four-inch interval-s to cut four inch patches, or theymav' be located at two-inch intervals to allow the operator to cut four six-,: and eight-inch: patches without any further: adjustment by merely. skipping one or twov stops in'eachdeed movement. In anyevent, it is apparent that: the table top 2i may be providedwith'aseries of holes to; receive stops 8%)- in anypositions the operator may desire.

semiautomatic ccntrol mechanism is provided for raising and lo-weri ng the'cutter 25for each operation on thework piece, the cutter-remaining in lowered position'at t'he completion of.- each. operation to clear the workpiece so that the work piece: may be advancedzby the feed indexing device H. In Figure 5-thenurneral it! designates a manual controlswitch for the cutter motor 32 which runs continuously, andnurneral Hi2 designates a main control-switch for the automatic mechanism. A cycle of tool traverse movements is initiated by footswitch [63.

Referring now to Figure 14,-the-bottom. and top ends of .cylinder SSare connected. by pipes l l l and! i2. with .a solenoidmperated reversing valve H3. The-reversingvalve Il3 is also connected with a fluid pressure supply pipe H4 and an exhaust or relief pipe H5. The pressure and re,- lief connections for the opposite ends of cylinder 36 are reversed by means of a balanced sliding spool valve having magnetic armatures H6 and H1 extending from opposite sides of the valv housing. When up solenoid H8 is energized, armature H6 is pulled to the left to place h valve in its up position, and when down solenoid H9 is energized, armature H1 is pulled to the right to place the valve in its down position. Solenoid H8 is controlled by foot switch I03 which is spring returned to open position when foot pressure is removed. Solenoid H9 is controlled by a normally spring opened switch I26 which is closed momentarily by the screw"!!! in the upward movement of the vertical tool slide 36. When both switches I03 and I 20 are op the valve H3 remains in the position of its last actuation.

The rest position of the parts is illustrated in Figures 10 and 14. Slide 30 is in its. lowermost position which carries tool 25 below the level of work piece S and allows cam follower 64 to rest in the relieved portion 66 of cam 65 so that spring 63 holds the clamp 50 retracted. Feed device II may then be moved to the left in Figures 5 and 9 to index the strip S to the next cutting position. Both solenoids H8 and H9 are deenergized and the movable valve member connected between armatures H6 and H1 is in its right-hand position after the completion of the previous operation. In this position, designated as the down position, fluid pressure from supply pipe II 4 is admitted into top cylinder pipe H2, and bottom cylinder pipe III is connected with the exhaust or relief pipe H5. Both of switches I03 and I20 are open.

When the operator closes foot switch I63 momentarily, solenoid H8 is energized to pull armature I I6 to the left and move the valve member to its up position, admitting pressure to pipe II I and connecting pipe H2 to exhaust. The piston then moves slide 36 and tool 25 upward transversely across thepatch strip S to cut a V-shaped groove which forms the curved surfaces 21 previously referred to. As slide 39 starts upward, the raised surface 61 of cam 65 rides under roller 64 to rock fork 51 toward the work piece and allow clamp 50 to hold the work piece firmly against back plate 22 for the cutting operation.

The upward movement of tool 25 is terminated as shown in Figure 11 by the engagementof screw It with switch I 20 to close the switch and energize the down solenoid H9. With'the energization of this solenoid, armature H1 and the movable valve member are pulled back to the right to admit pressure to the top of the cylinder through pipe H2 and exhaust through the bottom pipe II. The piston travels down to its lower limit of movement carrying the tool 25 clear of the work piece and dropping cam roller 64 back into the relieved part of the cam 65 to retract the work clamp 50. Thefeed device II may then be advanced to the, selected stop for the next cutting operation. 7

The depth of cut is adjusted by means of screw 45. The cut may be made deep enough to cut the patchesapart, if desired, but itis preferred to leave them attached in strip form. by

thin-webs of connecting material at. the break lines 28. Thisnot only allows the'patches to be handled conveniently 'in strip form, but also has a further important advantage. In'order to present predominantly flat grain, rather than 'tion which produces an unsightly repair.

end grain, on the curved surfaces 21, the ends become so thin they are likely'to develop afeather edge which may not be square across the patch, and which, in any event, is likely to chip and split. It is essential that the patch have clean-cut square ends in order to lit the recess or pocket prepared'for it in the piece of wood which is being repaired, and this may best be accomplished by adjusting the tool by means of screw 45 to leave'the patches connected by the thin webs 28. Then, when the patches are broken apart by hand, there is no tendency to splinter or split the wood, even though the web portions 28 are so thin that they are not perceptible on the ends of the patches after they are broken apart. Thus, for all practical purposes, the circular arc of the curved surface 21 may be considered to intersect the plane of the top surface I6 of the patch, and the ends of the patch are not caused to project noticeably above the top surface of the wood being repaired. In any event, the patches are ordinarily sanded after they have been glued in place to make them perfectly smooth with the surface of the wood.

When the patches are left connected in strip form as shown in Figure 6, they are in convenient form for automatic magazine feed having a power operated feed device to perform the function of manual feed device H for advancing one strip at a time in step by step longitudinal movement.

By providing a supply of patches of different lengths, pitch seams and cracks of any length can be repaired with a single patch, instead of following the conventional practice of overlapping a series of small patches in end to end rela- With the present type of patch, a long repair is considerably less conspicuous than a short repair, because the side edges are usually invisible after sanding and the ends are not easily noticed as they get farther apart.

By making patches of the same width for long and short repairs, the same routing tool may be used for preparing the wood to receive patches of different size, and also the same heat and pressure applying tool may be used for setting the glue on the patches.

The shaping tool 25 may have its blades ground to make any contour desired in the sled ends of the patch, but the apparatus of the invention has particular utility for making patches to fit prepared recesses cut by a rotary routing tool on a horizontal shaft. In routing out a defect in the wood to be repaired, the rotary tool is traversed in the plane of its rotation to make a shallow elongated recess with upwardly sloping cylindrical end surfaces having a radius of curvature equal to the radius of the routin tool. To. fit such a prepared recess the patch must have.

its end surfaces 21 cylindrical and tangent to This is the shape of each, side of the V-shaped groove formed in the patch.

bottom surface I'I.

Patent is:

1. In a veneer patch cutting machine, a table for supporting a strip of wood veneer in fixed position, a rotary tool having V-shaped cutting blades for cutting a transverse groove in said aeiasce strip, a slide carrying said tool for traverse movement across said strip, a guide for said slide, means for reciprocating said slide in said guide to traverse the tool between working and nonworking positions, and means for adjusting said guide toward and away from said strip to vary the depth of cut.

2. A machine for cutting wood veneer patches comprising a guide plate for positioning one face of a veneer strip, means to clamp a strip against said guide plate, a rotary cutting tool mounted for reciprocating traverse movement across said face between working and non-working positions, means to adjust said tool toward and away from said guide plate to vary the depth of cut, V- shaped cutting blades on said tool to cut a 'V- shaped groove across said strip when the tool is traversed, and means to index the strip in different working positions in longitudinal feed movement.

3. A wood veneer .patch cutting machine comprising a plate for positioning one face of .a str'i of veneer in a definite plane, means for clamping a veneer strip against said plate, a rotary cutter mounted for reciprocating traverse movement across said veneer face to working and rest positions and equipped with ll-shaped blades to groove said face, and means responsive to the raverse movement of said cutter to release clamping means when the cutter is in rest posi tion and to actuate said clamping means when the cutter is in workingiposition.

4;. In a wood veneer patch cutting machine, a table for holding a veneer strip in working position, a rotary cutter fhaving V-s'hape'd cutting blades mounted for traverse movement across said strip to shape the ends onadjacent patches simultaneously .in a single cutting operation, .a guide supporting said cutter .for sliding traverse movement between working and non-working positions, fluid pressure operated means for traversing said cutter in saidigu'ide, and means for adjusting said guide toward and away from the veneer strip.

5. In a wood veneer patch cutting machine, a table for supporting a-strip of veneer, afeed slide on said table, a clamp on said slide .to grip one end of the veneer strip, a series of stops on said table in thepath of said slide, anda stop engaging lever on said-slide-movable to a releaseposh tion to enable manual feed movement ,past said stops.

6. In a wood veneer patch cutting .machine, .a table for supporting a veneer strip, a rotary -tool having J-shaped cutting elements mounted for traverse across one face of said veneer strip to cut a wide V-shapedgroove in said .face forming sled-shaped ends on adjacent patches :in said strip, a feed slide, a clampon said feed slide to the veneer strip, a series of stops in the path of said feed slide, and means on saidffeed slide to engage said stops to enable manualindex- ;ing of the veneer strip'to different working positions with respect to said tool to make patches of a length equal .to aninteger multiple of the distance between saidstop's.

7. In a wood veneer patch cuttingmahineya "table "for positioning a veneer strip inwvorking position, arotaryputter having v-shapedcutting blades mounted for traversemovementacross said veneer strip to shape the ends of adjacentpatc'h'es 'eing "formed fronrsaid strip, nuidpre'ssure operate-d means "for traversing said cutter between Working and non-working positions, a reversing valve for controlling 'the direction of movement 8 of said fluid pressure operated means, manual means to operate said valve to move the cutter from non-working to working position, and means actuated by the movement of said cutter to working position to operate said reversing valve to return the cutter to non-working position.

8, A woodveneer patch cutting machine comprising a table for holding a strip of veneer in working position, a rotary tool having V-shaped cutting blades mounted on a slide for cutting transverse grooves in said strip, a guide for said slide, means for adjusting said guide toward and away from said strip of veneer, means for traversing said slide and tool between working and nonworking positions, means for clamping said veneer strip against the table, and means actuated by said slide to release said clamping means when the tool is in non-working position and to clamp said clamping means when the tool is in working position.

9. A veneer patch cutting machine comprising a table for holding a piece or veneer in working position, means for clamping the veneer in said position, means for indexing longitudinal feed movement of the veneer, a rotary tool mounted on a slide for traverse movement across said veneer, fluid pressure operated means for traversing said slide, symmetrical V-shaped cutting elements on said tool for shaping opposite ends of adjacent patches simultaneously in a single working stroke of the tool, a guide for said slide, means 'for adjusting said guide toward and away from said veneer to vary the depth of cut, and 'means oper ated by said slide to control said clamping means.

10. A veneer patch cutting machine comprising a table having a vertical fence for engaging a flat face of a strip of veneer supported on edge on the table, means for clamping the strip against said fence, a rotary cutting tool having blades operable through said fence on said face of the veneer, a vertical guide and slide supporting said tool for vertical traverse movement across said face of the veneer, means for adjustingsaid guide horizontally relative "to said fence ;to vary the depth of out of said tool, and means actuated by said slide to .control's'aid clamping means. 7 .11. ha veneer patch cutting machine and the like, a table having means for engaging a flat face of .a strip of veneer to .supp'ortsaid face in a predetermined position, means for clamping the strip against said first means, a rotar cutting .tool having blades operable on said face of the veneer, a guide .andslide supportingsaidtool for traversemovement across said faceof the veneer, means for adjusting said guide relative to said strip engaging means to vary the depth of cut of the tool, means actuated by said slide to control said clamping means, a .fluidpressure operated unit mounted in afixed position relative to said table and strip engaging means to traverse the tool, and alink pivotally connected between said unit and said slide "to accommodate misalignment between said unit and s'lide'resulting'from operation of said adjusting nreans.

12. A veneer patch cutting-machine comprising a table having'a vertical'fence for engaging'aflat face of a strip of veneer supported on edge on the'table, meansifor clamping'the strip against said fence, a rotary cutting 'tool having blades operable through said fence on said face of the veneer, a verticalfgu'id'e and slide supporting said tool for vertical traverse movement across said face of the veneer, means for adjusting said guide slide to control said clamping means, a fluid pressure operated traverse unit mounted on said table in a fixed position relative to said fence, and a link pivotally connected between said unit and said slide to accommodate misalignment between said unit and slide resulting from operation of said adjusting means.

ELBERT V. BENNETT. HARRELL RENN.

Name Date Hall Nov. 8, 1870 Number Number Number 15 12,469

Name Date Hutchins Dec. 8, 1874 Buss July 20, 1886 Thom Sept. 6, 1892 Overhiser Nov. 20, 1894 Dunbar Aug. 28, 1906 Brooks Apr. '7, 1914 Lumb Sept. 30, 1924 Linn Aug. 7, 1934 Grant Nov. 20, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain of 1849 

